1-1 By: Gray (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 603 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 1995; 1-3 May 12, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Jurisprudence; May 23, 1995, reported favorably by the following 1-5 vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 23, 1995, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to the issuance of a qualified domestic relations order to 1-9 clarify or modify a final divorce order that provides for the 1-10 division of a pension or other retirement benefits. 1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-12 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 3, Family Code, is amended 1-13 by adding Section 3.711 to read as follows: 1-14 Sec. 3.711. CONTINUING JURISDICTION FOR QUALIFIED DOMESTIC 1-15 RELATIONS ORDERS. (a) Notwithstanding another provision of this 1-16 chapter, if a court in rendering a final decree of divorce or 1-17 annulment or another final order dividing property under this 1-18 chapter did not provide a qualified domestic relations order or 1-19 similar order permitting payment of benefits to an alternate payee 1-20 or other lawful payee, a party may petition the court to render a 1-21 qualified domestic relations order or similar order. Unless 1-22 prohibited by federal law, an action seeking a qualified domestic 1-23 relations order or similar order under this section applies to any 1-24 previously divided pension, retirement plan, or other employee 1-25 benefit divisible under the law of this state or the United States, 1-26 whether the plan or benefit is private, state, or federal. 1-27 (b) An action seeking a qualified domestic relations order 1-28 or similar order under Subsection (a) must be filed with the court 1-29 that rendered the final order for a division of property. 1-30 Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, the court that 1-31 rendered the final order has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction 1-32 over the parties and property for purposes of rendering a qualified 1-33 domestic relations order or similar order as if the court were 1-34 required to presently divide the plan or benefit in a manner 1-35 substantially similar to the original division. 1-36 (c) Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, a 1-37 court of this state that rendered a domestic relations order that a 1-38 plan administrator or other person acting in an equivalent capacity 1-39 determines does not satisfy the requirements of a qualified 1-40 domestic relations order or similar order, retains continuing, 1-41 exclusive jurisdiction over the parties and property to the extent 1-42 necessary to render an amended or corrected domestic relations 1-43 order that satisfies the requirements of a qualified domestic 1-44 relations order for payment of benefits to the alternate payee or 1-45 other lawful payee. 1-46 (d) A petition under this section, except as otherwise 1-47 provided by this code, is governed by the Texas Rules of Civil 1-48 Procedure that apply to the filing of an original lawsuit. Each 1-49 party whose rights may be affected by the petition is entitled to 1-50 receive notice by citation and shall be commanded to appear by 1-51 filing a written answer. Following service of citation, the 1-52 proceedings shall be conducted in the same manner as civil cases 1-53 generally. 1-54 (e) The court shall liberally construe this section to 1-55 effectuate payment of retirement benefits that were divided by a 1-56 previous decree that failed to contain a qualified domestic 1-57 relations order or similar order or that contained an order that 1-58 failed to meet the requirements of a qualified domestic relations 1-59 order or similar order. 1-60 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and 1-61 applies to an order, judgment, or decree without regard to whether 1-62 the order, judgment, or decree was rendered before, on, or after 1-63 the Act's effective date. 1-64 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 1-65 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-66 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-67 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-68 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 2-1 * * * * *